Golf club with sighting means



y 3, 1962 R. E. JOHNSON 3,04 409 GOLF CLUB WITH SIGHTING MEANS Filed Dec. 21, 1959 -6 r28 24' w "w --m In" 1 W 3 l6 4 0 #l 5 4 I INVENTOR RALPH E JOHNSON BY WW ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofifice 3,642,409 patented July 3, 1962 3,042,409 GOLF CLUB WITH SIGHTING MEANS Ralph E. Johnson, 33 W. Church St., Newark, Ohio Filed Dec. 21, 1959, Ser. No. 860,932 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-164) This invention relates to golf clubs, and particularly to the type of club which is used primarily on the greens of a golf course, namely, the putter.

When golfers are on the green of a golf course, and have their putter in hand, they attempt to position their eye directly over the ball to be hit with the putter striking face so as to properly align the ball with the cup or with another spot determined in accordance with the roll of the green. For this purpose some putters have heretofore been suggested which provide for positioning of the golfers eye by means of aligning his direction of sight with an elongated portion of the shaft of the putter. Such putters require that the golfer have the ability to determine when his line of sight is directed exactly along the shaft of the club, and most golfers lack such ability.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide in a golf putter incorporating means whereby any golfer can easily vertically position his eyes above the ball to be hit with the striking face of the putter. More particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a putter incorporating two spaced sighting guides which are vertically aligned so that when the golfer brings his line of sight into coincidence with such guides, he knows that his eye is directly above the ball which he wishes to hit.

Still another and more specific object of this invention is to provide a putter in accordance with the preceding object which incorporates a first sighting guide on the head of the putter and a second sighting guide carried by a shaft portion of the putter coupled with the head, wherein the second sighting guide is disposed laterally of the junction between the shaft of the putter and the head of the putter and in vertical alignment with the first sighting guide.

Still another, and still more specific object of the present invention is to provide a putter in accordance with the preceding objects wherein the second sighting guide is formed by a bend or offset in the shaft portion of the putter which defines a point spaced from, and vertically aligned with, the first sighting guide. Preferably the first sighting guide takes the form of a line extending across the top face of the putter head at least substantially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the striking face of the putter head.

As should be apparent from the preceding objects, the invention, basically, and in its simplest aspects, provides in a golf club, the combination of a club head having a top face and a ball striking face; and a shaft coupled to the club head, wherein the top face of the club head is provided with a first sighting guide, and wherein the shaft carries a second sighting guide disposed laterally of the coupling junction between the shaft and the club head and in vertical alignment with the first sighting guide.

The invention will be better understood, and objects other than those specifically set forth above will become apparent, when consideration is given to the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description refers to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the lower portion of an upright shaft putter constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention, and presents schematically the manner in which the eye of the golfer can be positioned directly over the ball to be hit;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is also a plan view similar to FIGURE 2 but taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the lower portion of a counter-balanced putter constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

In the drawings, a putter having a blade type head has been shown, and the shaft coupled to the head is presented as being formed integrally therewith. It should be understood initially, however, that the invention can be incorporated on any golf club regardless of the type head, and that the shaft can be joined to the head in any suitable manner. The construction shown in the drawings is used merely for illustrative purposes to facilitate comprehension of the invention.

By referring to FIGURE 1, it will be noted that the numeral 2 generally designates a club head and the numeral 4 generally designates a club shaft attached to the club head 2. The FIGURE 1 construction is generally termed an upright putter because the major portion of the shaft of the putter extends at least substantially perpendicularly from the head of the club. The

a top face 6 of the head 2. The score 18 serves as a means for defining a first sighting guide. It can be rc placed by a painted line or the like, the important factor being that a first sighting guide is provided on the top face 6 of the club head 2 and substantially aligned with the point on the striking face of the head which the golfer desires to have meet the ball. Usually, the point on the striking face is centrally disposed and aligned with the center of gravity of the club head, and thus takes the position of the point designated by the crossmark 20.

As suggested at the outset of this specification, the shaft 4 carries means at the lower end thereof for defining a second sighting guide spaced from the first sighting guide 18 and vertically aligned therewith. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the means for defining the second sighting guide comprises a bend 22 in the portion of the shaft adjacent the club head. Such bend extends inwardly of the major portion of the shaft in the direction of the first sighting guide, and then outwardly in the opposite direction as the distance from the club head increases.

More particularly, as shown in FIGURE 1, the portion 24- of the shaft slopes inwardly of the junction between shaft 4 and the first sighting guide 18, and the portion 26 of the shaft slopes outwardly in the opposite direction. The portion 24 may also be considered as sloping inwardly and upwardly from the heel end 10 of the club head and toward the toe end 12 thereof, and the portion 26 can be described as sloping away from the toe end 12 and toward the heel end 10 of the club head.

When a golf club is constructed with a shaft having a lower portion as shown in FIGURE 1 and with a club head having a first sighting means such as that designated by numeral 18 disposed on the top face of the club head, then a golfer can vertically align his eye over the ball which he desires to hit, by bringing his line of sight into coincidence with (a) the point 28 formed by the bend 3 in the club shaft, and (b) the first sighting guide defined by the score 18.

The counter balance type putter which is shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 is constructed essentially the same as the putter shown in FIGURE 1, the difference being that the shaft of the putter angles from the club head and is not perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular, with respect thereto. In FIGURE 4 the club head is designated by the numeral 2 and the shaft coupled thereto is designated by the numeral 4. The club head 2 has a top face 6 a first sighting guide 18 defined thereon by a score extending across the top face 6'. Such score, as in FIGURE 1, extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the striking face 14', and preferably over the center of gravity of the club head. In the FIGURE 4 construction, the junction between the shaft 4 and the club head 2 is displaced from the heel end of the club head; however, such junction, as in FIGURE 1, is laterally spaced from the first sighting means 18. The shaft 4' has a bend or offset portion 22 adjacents its coupling with the club head. The portion 24 of the bend extends inwardly in the direction of the first sighting means, and the major portion of the shaft 4 extends outwardly from the portion 24'. With the FIGURE 4 construction the need for providing an additional bend, such as that designated by numeral 28 in FIGURE 1, is unnecessary. The operation of the FIG- URE 4 construction is the same as that of FIGURE 1.

.Vertical aligning of the golfers eye takes place when his line of sight is coincident with the first and second sighting guides.

From the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent that I have provided a golf club which achieves the objects set forth at the outset of this specification. The club includes the combination of a head having a top face and a ball-striking face, and a shaft portion coupled to the club head. The top face of the club head has a first sighting guide defined thereon, and the shaft of the club extends generally upwardly of the top face from a junction between the club head and the shaft laterally spaced from the first sighting guide. The shaft carries a second sighting guide which is disposed laterally of the junction between the shaft and the top face of the club head, and in vertical alignment with the first sighting guide. The second sighting guide, according to the preferred embodiments of the invention, is substantially pointed, and is formed by a bend or olfset in the shaft of the club adjacent its connection with the club head. With such construction, a golfer is not required to align any length of the shaft with a given point or line, but canmerely vertically align the second sighting guide with the first sighting guide, when the sole face of the putter head is grounded behind the ball to be hit, to properly position his line of sight.

Thus, it should be apparent that the invention provides by way of simple expedients, a putter which facilitates accurate and proper sighting inv accordance with the objects of the invention set forth at the outset.

Accordingly, I claim:

'In a golf club, the combination of a club head having a top face and a ball-striking face, said top face having a first sighting guide defined thereon, said first sighting guide comprising a line extending at least substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of said striking face and at least substantially over the center of gravity of said club head, and a shaft portion coupled to said club head and extending generally upwardly of said club head from a junction between said club head and said shaft portion spaced laterally from said first sighting guide, said shaft portion having means thereon spaced from said top face of said club head for defining a second and at least substantially pointed sighting guide vertically aligned centrally with said first sighting guide, said second sighting guide being disposed in its entirety between vertical planes passing respectively through the outer extremities of said striking face and the side of said club head opposite said striking face, said second and at least substantially pointed sighting guide comprising a pointed offset in said shaft portion extending adjacent said club head inwardly of the major portion of said shaft in the direction of said first sighting guide, whereby a golfer using the club can vertically position his eye above the ball to be hit with said striking face by aligning his eye with said first and second sighting guides.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,898,109 Williams Aug. 4, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,608 Great Britain '4 

